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Thursday, February 01, 2007

Calhoun’s Cannons, The Bay News, Morro Bay, CA, For Jan 31 07

Yes, It’s The January 22nd RWQCB’s Ongoing Disgraceful DumbShow Presentation of “Torquemada’s Mad Hatter Tea Party & Auto-de-fe Public Beheading & Traveling CDO Show Of The Los Osos 45, Part, Uh, Oh, Heck, I Can’t Remember, There Have Been So Many of Them”

First, the dumbshow boffo laffs as The Grand Inquisitor, Reed Sato, tried to claim that NOBODY connected with the RWQCB and/or staff would ever, EVER use the phrase . . . “vacate the premises . . “ as what will happen if the CDO’s drop dead date of 2011 comes and there is no sewer to hook up to. He further tried to make clear that NOBODY, except a COMPLETE MORON, would ever, EVER think, for a moment, that “vacating the premises” was even on the radar, was even the REMOTEST possibility, so he couldn’t figure out WHERE THESE STUPID CDO PEOPLE GOT THAT IDEA, THAT PHRASE, THOSE WORDS!

Until RWQCB staff member Matt Thompson was asked (under oath) if he ever said to a CDO recipient that if there were no sewer by 2011 “. . . you’d have to vacate the premises. . .” and Matt answered, “Uh, yeah, I guess I did . . .”

Oh, right. THAT’S where these stupid CDO people got that idea. From the staff go-to guy, the Main Man, the Primary Contact for all things CDOish, the Horse’s Mouth.

Then, The Weirdness: The RWQCB’s attorneys have fought from day one to make sure NOTHING gets into the record, except what they want there, which always raises the question: What is that Board scared might get into the record? If it’s irrelevant, a “real court of law” will dismiss it. If it IS relevant, a “real court of law” will have need of it. So what’s the problem? Unless this Board is afraid of certain evidence even as they deny the need for any evidence to justify what they’re doing.

Next up, The Scary Part: From the start, the game here has not been a legitimate process intended on solving a real problem. Even though the requirements of pump, repair, inspect is given as the reason for issuing a CDO, evidence had already been presented that this mitigation would NOT do diddly to the groundwater during the short delay until the county completes its new wastewater project. But, this process does have one clear function as a blandly deniable illegal electioneering tactic for the homeowners’ upcoming 218 vote by tying their vote directly and ultimately to the requirement to “vacate [your] premises” if the vote fails.

Hence the CDO tactic of moving the goal posts, changing the rules, even sending out some critical time sensitive documents that demanded responses within very tight time frames using a postal meter WITH THE WRONG YEAR ON IT, constantly morphing the language of the CDOs in an effort to create a Kafkaesque process designed to confuse, harass, exhaust and keep The Los Osos 45 chasing their tails until, under exhausted duress, they’d finally sign anything, thereby turning the fate of their property over to a bunch of guys who didn’t know how to set a postal meter correctly.

But it was the Board itself that remained the curious dark star in this proceeding. CDO recipient Bill Moylan challenged the Board to stop what they were doing since it wasn’t necessary, made no sense and that they alone had the power to stop harassing sick old people with a pointless procedure that was causing real damage to people’s health and lives.

The Board members and Staff sat passive and indifferent. Had their actions damaged people? Oh, yes. They knew that. They’d seen first hand evidence of what this process was doing to people. Were their policies irrational? Contradictory? Bait & Switchy? Mad Hatterish? Pointless? Intended to beat citizens down into exhaustion? Oh, yes. They knew that too.

But they simply didn’t care. To choose an ethical and common sense approach might actually require the smallest effort. Clearly that was out of the question. And to actually care about the people appearing before them would take courage they either didn’t have or chose not to have.

Instead, they again portrayed themselves as helpless victims, washing their soft hands of any responsibility, taking refuge in rules they had invented in order protect themselves, choosing expediency over meaningful action.

Finally turning away, smiling secretly sadistic smiles, these frightened, passive men, men who were faced with a moral decision, instead reached for a self-serving hankie, then left the room.

60 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Today Molly Ivins said this in regard to the Iraq War. "Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous." She was talking about citizens getting off their couches, taking some action, any action, to raise their voices to point out even at this late date that the Emperor has no clothes.

Recently General Wesley Clark, former commander of the NATO forces in Europe, said in reference to the Iraq War that people tend to be proud of where they come from. He said that if you attack them on their home ground you will meet fierce resistance. He also said in the same interview, "Don't use force unless you HAVE to."

Los Osos isn't Iraq. Bill and I have dear friends with elderly relatives trying to survive in Baghdad right now. We have some perspective on our plight in comparison to theirs, and there's no comparison. I said in public a long time ago that worse things have happened to people than losing their homes to a water board.

But what Molly Ivins and Gen. Clark have to say about people, about human nature, certainly applies here.

The CSD brought this all down on us! The deliberate halting of the sewer project was calculated to bring the RWQCB into the battle.

A very small majority of the community allowed Ms.Schicker and Mrs.Tacker to throw down their shovels and give the finger to every property owner in the PZ! They deliberately drove the power drunk Board of Directors to BANKRUPT the District and then have the gall to say it's not their fault that the Water Boards don't roll over and give in to the Mad CSD. Bull Shit!

The only reason we have the RWQCB building a legal case against us as individuals is because the now neutered CSD deliberately mismanaged the elected office they held! They were elected on a series of LIES and now they want the property owners to believe their wringing hands and tears act!

There never was a PLAN to move the sewer! All that was ever planned was a deliberate lie so they could be elected and then throw the District into financial ruin and drive the cost of any sewer so high that the general property owner couldn't afford the final cost! They never attempted to submit any applications for grants, they were too busy spending on their sole-sourced legal team to carry out a crusade against all government authority. It was a deliberate plan to destroy the finances of the District and they succeeded!

The RWQCB has no choise but to take the legal road to threaten the property owners as that is the way the laws are written. The legal war waged by the CSD has lead the authorities to now have to fight with all the legal means they have at their disposal.

Our CSD caused every bit of this battle and they can't lose, they knew damn well that the CSD was going to go under and only the property owners would be held accountable, not the CSD, hell, they can just close the doors and walk away.

Ann, you are way off target! Lay the CSD open and you'll see the lies were deliberate and aimed at forcing the Water Boards into a legal position against the only stake holders in the war against putting in any sewer!

Anon 10:35 I find your comments to be very extreme. It seems as if you truly believe that our current CSD (sans Joe) deliberately planned all of this. Do you personally know Chuck or John or Steve or Lisa, who all own property in the PZ? Why would any of them, your basic state employees, want to drive the CSD into the ground and make it so that property owners would be forced to vacate their homes? I didn't support the actions of the old board but I don't thnk they were intentionally malicious or somehow wished the worst for our community. BTW, grants were applied for. The grants committee, headed up by Ms. Schicker, worked long and hard on locating potential grant sources, letters of inquiry, etc. Please don't spread misinformation about something it appears you know little about.

True, I haven't looked it up at the county, but she says she is a homeowner in the PZ so I assumed it's true. She could be lying. Maybe the title is is her husband's name only. Regardless, I still find it hard to believe that homeowners who have no stake in development and such would orchestrate something like this on purpose. I think what they did is stand up to the Water Board and the State and they got smacked down, hard.

LOVE today's nugget! Good for you! What is your take on Sorrel Marks' comment that Los Osos voted to put the sewer project downtown? I mean in one way I know what she meant. The formation of the CSD only happened because of the Ponds of Avalon promotion. But don't you think (I do) that Hyaschi and crew think that that "vote" for the downtown sewer was for the sewer project that got stopped by the new board? I would love to hear your opinion on this.

To Anon 10:35 Oh please. Calm down. The RWQCB has been letting this slide for years "as long as progress is being made" or somesuch. Isn't everything that's going on with the county now "progress?" Of course it is! The county has done more in a few months than the CSD has done in years. The RWQCB is using their power to intimidate us, that's all. Lisa and Julie didn't plan for this to happen. Honestly, I think they had no idea of the unintended consequences of their actions.

We agree, the WB has been letting this slide for years as long as progress was being made. I have a difficulty in viewing the stopping of a sewer as progress, but I could be mistatken. Maybe the WB didn't think we were making much progress either.

It is wonderful to have the County take back their project. Maybe the WB will go back to sitting on their hands with so much progress being made. Maybe the Bankruptcy Court will make all the claims vanish. Maybe dreams do come true.

Well that report prety much sums it up. The water board is a mindless automaton with no coordination between its parts. I have a hard time trying to imagine a more useless waste of taxpayers money. Its useless to rail against them anymore, the whole farce will fall apart if it sees the light of any real courtroom. Perhaps what Sato was trying to convey is that they should be ignored. "Don't worry, we wont realy do anything as bad as what we told you we would do" The incompetance is overwhelming.

I would like to share your optimism, but other cities are watching this little Dog Patch sand pile vs. the Water Board. They would also like to be able to ignore their own CDO's and fines.

So, do you think that the State will just disband or otherwise put the Water Boards in a quiet corner? Or will the Water Board plug the legal holes and then build the case to crack down on the County of San Luis Obispo or on those of us who own property in Los Osos?

The CSD threw down the challege by stopping the sewer and then calling the SRF an illegal loan followed by spending it on lawyers so they could to mount a legal crusade.

The State can't afford to lose this battle. We're just pawns in this game. We can't afford to sell and we can't afford to fight. We lose thanks to the corruption of the CSD!

To compare the water board actions against treatment facilitys of other communitys, which by the way, they are quite capable of posecuting, to the now incomprehensible attempt to prosecute individual property owners that is happening here, just flys in the face of logic. Ill concieved from the start. Very much like the formation of the CSD in the first place. And every bad decision right down the line to today. The State has every ability to rectify this situation, the process with the county is proof. The State also has the ability to change the methods of the water board. I hope it dose so through legislation rather than court action, but I fear the second way may be inevitable.

Keep on thinking you won't have to pay for a sewer thanks to your overwelming majority mandate of the people. Maybe when you have your up-coming stroke as the County puts the main treatment plant on Tri-W, you won't ever have to pay.

If anyone listed to what the Federal Judge said on December 16, 2006 it is clear that the Water Board STOPPED the project by its failure to honor the SRF loan. Look it up. The CSD did not STOP the project the stinkin' State did. And where is Briggs and How many know that Celeste Cantu, who unilaterally reneged on the October 2005 compromise is gone from her post as the Chief of the State Board. And the state is better off for it.

What is so terrible is that the water board is fighting with the citizens. The Oct 2005 compromise would be well toward completion at this time. What the Regional Board has done is grab a tiger by the tail and they fear the political fallout if they let go. Is this compromise that was so unceremoniously, unilaterally rejected by the state, been long forgotten? How many citizens of Los Osos remember that Sunday night meeting where Hope, yes real Hope reinvigorated an embattled community that had the wherewithal to simply tell its government No? And what did the State and Regional Board do? Attack! So where does that leave the combatants? In a stalemate? I think not, as the Federal Authorities have clearly seen through the catastrophic effects of a regulatory agency run amok. Jeffery Young has no clue as what CIVIL SERVICE is nor does some (and I venture to say a growing minority) of his staff. The Board has been grossly mislead and misadvised and they have gravely erred and are afraid that they will suffer politically if they cooperated. Admirably they are attempting to support some of their executive staff including Briggs, Marks, Hubner and Matt Thompson, but this may be a misplaced loyalty on the Board's part as some of these staffer's have grossly abused both the public trust and the trust of their superiors. Conversations with other Regional Staff members clearly reveal the schism in the staff as they see a practical way out and the severity of the inappropriate reaction by their superiors.

With this said and with what the rumor mill is grinding out at this time, there seems to be a real effort to work out a real solution. And there are many solutions, both interim as well as permanent. The technical solutions are merely being hung up by the siting of the plant. This has been looked at so many times that it is unbelievable how it cannot be acknowledged. With one exception, and at least three opposing opinions the Tri-W site is a disaster waiting to happen if a plant were put there. What about the now clearly identified problems with the total reliance on Broderson? What about the consequences of the recently enacted SSMPs by the state? What about bifurcation of the park project and the treatment system? With all of the money and effort spent by the supporters of the park at Tri-W why not lobby for a separate park project? Things have changed and if there is a will there is a way. Quite frankly with the damage done to the native habitat at Tri-W why not see the other opportunity to not only use it for a park but also as a barrier for the run off to the estuary? This run off problem from the newer developments in Los Osos may, just may be mitigated. And who says you need to do the park as an all at once deal? Restoration of a portion, later construction of a dog park, or an outdoor nature theater in such a natural (of course if it is restored) setting or maybe some limited mixed use. But stop hanging up the sewer project for a $%#$ park.

The County and the State and the CSD can get this thing done and if the rumors are true there is positive things going on. If the Regional Board had "service" in their heart, they would encourage a positive engagement by all of the players and work towards a solution and not towards retribution.

Do you think the Tri-W site would be returned to a nature site? Guess again! I could care less about a park there, but I sure would like to build some multi-story housing units there. How would you like a 5 story condo with views of the ocean over the sandspit? So build that sewer "out of town", I can recover the hook-up cost in a heart beat!

2:51PM: You are wrong. The newly elected BOD stopped the WWP as soon as possible after going into office. There was a whole lot of correspondence between the CSD and the WB. The CSD, by stopping construction stopped any further installments of the low-interest SRF loan. The CSD continued to spend the SRF (which was specifically earmarked for construction costs only) by cutting warrants to the law firm of Burke, Williams and Sorenson, for payola concerning the lawsuits that had been brought about earlier, by Al Barrow, Kieth Swanson, CASE and CCLO. In other words, the new CSD counsel arranged to have themselves paid off for cases that they had taken on from Barow, Swanson, CASE and CCLO PRO BONO.

Tell me, after Ms. Tacker told the press that the "Water Board did not have the personnel to enforce the regulations"would YOU send THIS District any more funds????

This Board has erroneously thought it could call all the shots. They defied all logic, laws, etc. I don't care where the damn facility was put, I just wanted to get it done. Now we have CDO's, a huge debt, a bankrupt CSD.

How much crap has to take place before people realize that we have been screwed over by Lisa, Julie, etc.

What a shame that the 49% of Los Osos has to put up with the bad judgement and egos of this Board.

No, grandpa, Joe Sparks did not do one thing to you "old folks". As a member of the BOD, Joe does not have any individual discretion in matters such as this. It takes a MAJORITY to cut off the old farts from watching. If you can't watch, blame the ENTIRE friggin' Board.

The CSD did not bring all this down by stopping the project and bringing the RWQCB "into the battle" -- Pandora and Jerry Gregory brought the RWQCB into the battle to terrorize us if anyone did!

The RWQCB has stated that this is happening because the Tri-W was stopped, and the state stopped it, not the CSD. The state wasn't going to give the 2nd installment of the loan, so stop blaming that on the board.

Ann is on target. She knows exactly what's going on with the RWQCB. It's not about clean water, it's totally about electioneering to get the 218 vote passed -- you have to know that.

It's you who has the information wrong about the project stopping.

I can't understand why you want a super project with all the bells and whistles that is not sustainable (which the state water board has to have to loan SRF money) and have just a portion of homeowners pay for it. It's a energy hog and a financial disaster.

Who has fed you that line of crap! You do NOT know what you are talking about!

You have said more than once:

"I can't understand why you want a super project with all the bells and whistles that is not sustainable (which the state water board has to have to loan SRF money) and have just a portion of homeowners pay for it. It's a energy hog and a financial disaster"

FIRST: the financial disaster is our deliberately BANKRUPT CSD!

SECOND: the Tri-W design is NOT a super project. You are so far off base, you should go do some basic research before trying to continue spouting that out-right lie.

If you think a pond out somewhere is going to be acceptable and not have major expenses to purchase, operate and maintain, then you are the most gullible person in Los Osos! By the way, even a pond has sludge hauled away! Go do some research!

I have heard that the County will be offering a bare bones project (no ground water recharge, minimum possible treatment,etc) as well as options that have more features. Each option will have projected costs, and we will tell them in the advisory vote which one we want. Isn't that how it really should be, letting those who will pay the bill choose the option?

If an out of town project is more expensive, we will have an estimate of how much, and we can make an informed decision. No more passing the buck. Put up or shut up.

One of the main reasons Ripley's plan has problems is in the sunk costs and the costs of delay. Go ask LeGross. It certainly was not sludge removal.Another was the acceptance of ag exchange as opposed to complete nitrogen removal. So, if costs could be addressed and Ag exchange approved, well then you have a horse of a different color. (pobably invisable)

To anon "shut up"I wont shut up untill the county reviews my plans that give the TriW site back to the Chumash with the stipulation that they have to build a WWTF under their casino that will sevice all the PZ!!!

Does anyone know if the farms and ranches would actually want to buy nitrate enriched water and how much would they accept? It would have to be a rather long term contract to make it work.

You might want to guess how long it will before we see subdivisions taking the place of those acreages and what would that do to the Ag Exchange? Oh, that's right, there will be no change in the Los Osos demographics. Someone better talk to Jeff Tacker and his partner Julie Edwards about their development plans.

Anon 6:48 says"Each option will have projected costs, and we will tell them in the advisory vote which one we want. Isn't that how it really should be, letting those who will pay the bill choose the option?"

Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that homeowners in the PZ vote to pay the 218, then the whole community decides how much we in the PZ will pay. I will not vote for a 218 without a set upper limit for total assesssment and projected monthly payments. I am not voting for a blank check when someone outside the PZ helps decide the amount.

What the county is not addressing is that the state and federal should pay too, not just the PZ, for cleaning the bay. The state and federal government BENEFIT too! And the "District" pays as a whole if you read Prop 218.

The county is spinning about grants when as Mr. Golden said, as long as all the money is going to Iraq, grant money isn't going to happen. But, the PR move is on, making people think they'll get some financial relief to pay, so they vote yes on a 218. What a joke.

The county has done nothing so far to show they're on the up and up. Quite the opposite!!! Paavo speaks out of both sides of his mouth regarding the 218 procedure.

NO BLANK CHECK FOR THE COUNTY! NO BLANK CHECK FOR SAM BLAKESLEE! NO BLANK CHECK FOR THE DEVELOPERS AND REALTORS! NO BLANK CHECK FOR THEM TO TAKE OUR HOMES!

YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. EXPERTS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY THAT ARE LOOKING AT THIS AGREE THAT THIS TYPE OF PROJECT -- TRI-W -- IS NOT NEEDED FOR A COMMUNITY OF OUR SIZE. GET OVER IT! YOU ARE ALL WRONG!

I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT PONDS. I AM TALKING ABOUT A PROJECT THAT ISN'T SUSTAINABLE AND ISN'T NECESSARY. THE EXPERTS HAVE SPOKEN, AND YOU OBVIOUSLY ARE NO EXPERT! IF YOU THINK YOU ARE, TELL US WHO YOU ARE AND ALL ABOUT YOUR CREDENTIALS!

LOVE today's nugget! Good for you! What is your take on Sorrel Marks' comment that Los Osos voted to put the sewer project downtown? I mean in one way I know what she meant. The formation of the CSD only happened because of the Ponds of Avalon promotion. But don't you think (I do) that Hyaschi and crew think that that "vote" for the downtown sewer was for the sewer project that got stopped by the new board? I would love to hear your opinion on this."

As I pointed out in the 1.28 Posting: "Short Cuts - Short Circuits." the RWQCB has been given misinformation by their staff. They have not taken the time to actually verify that misinformation, therefore they make decisions based on that misinformation. That's always a bad situation for a regulatory agency. Matt Thompson misled the Board at the Jan 22 meeting by "forgetting" to point out clarifying quotes from the Peer Review report he was quoting from, qualifying remarks that would put his remarks in context. The Board probably didn't read the original document so they don't know. Sorrel Mark's gave Hayashi a "shorthand" version that again was misleading. Hayashi swallowed that misleading "shorthand" and you can bet his vote will be based on that misleading information and perception.

I have followled closely and written extensively about the Hideous San Luis Coastal School Board under the direction of Superintendent Denton. The same dynamic at work there is at work here: The Board, instead of being the watchdog, simply becomes the lapdog of the administration. Their rationale is simple: Our Superintendent (staff) are the experts and we rely on them, otherwise why would we hire them. Since the fox is not in charge of feeding the "watchdogs," naturally the watchdogs don't see the wolves who arrive to eat the chickens. Nor do they care to see the wolves since seeing the wolves would involve doing more work and/or having to question their entire paradignms, which is hard to do, so why bother. You're seeing the same process here in the RWQCB. In the case of School Boad, that board pounded millions of Measure A money into the ground, wasting it all horribly. RWQCB is likewise pounding god knows how much tax money into the ground, but in this case they're BUYING something: An illeglally electioneered 218 vote.

Mike Green sez:"Its useless to rail against them anymore, the whole farce will fall apart if it sees the light of any real courtroom. Perhaps what Sato was trying to convey is that they should be ignored."

The State water board can sit on the appeals for 270 days or 330 days, etc. Check when the 218 vote is due. The CDO's are NOT about clean water (Irony: The RWQCB relies on and uses Cleath & Assoc water reports. Tim Cleath testified that their pump, inspect, repair requirement wouldn't do diddly to the groundwater. So, this isn't about water) It IS about "changing the political will" of the community and using the CDOs to do it. The Tribune will join hand in glove, as they always have, with making sure that big CDO headlines will arrive at the perfect time, it will all be orchestrated to reach its crescendo about the time of the 218 vote. THAT's what this is about. Unless a real judge understands the illegality of what this Board is doing and issues a stay (do you know any local judge brave enough to do that? I don't) the whole issue will be moot by the time it gets to a "real court." Let me repeat, this is NOT about water or law or anything except electioneering a 218 vote that the RWQCB & Staff want. (And, shall we take bets that the project they'll be pushing for will involve one that REQUIRES a SRF loan, thereby ensuring that the $6 mil oustanding will get folded into the project and hence repaid -- with no further legal inquires into how that loan originally came to be written.)

Talk about staff reporting to the board, that's what happened with the legislation. The Senators didn't have time to read and the consultant who writes the summary said that 5,000 septics were polluting. So, that's where it all started. Funny that the very consultant has the same last name as someone who works with Paavo and the county...hummm...

About the 218, the county will not include any of the major costs and if the people vote yes they'll have to leave town.

The 218 vote needs to come AFTER the advisory vote. Paavo said himself that the 218 is on a specific project. So why is the county doing the vote backwards?? It's not a good thing. They want to push the expensive project down our throats, but want just some of us to pay.

Who will these people be that will have to leave town? I doubt it will be me. But I'm pretty sure if the vote doesn't pass, the county bails, and the state comes in, they will definitely push a project down our throats. No doubt about that. So just what are you recoomending? A no vote and have the state come in? Or how 'bout some good 'ol civil disobedience like Richard Maggotson from Cayucos suggested.

Maggot hasn't the backbone for disobedience, much less civil disobedience. He only wants to exploit the elderly into selling out cheaply so he can build is own bank account. I'm glad he doesn't live here and won't be able to vote one way or the other.

That's something! Before the county had to pay. Now only some do, and because of mobile homes and areas already on community systems will pay much less, the price goes even higher for most in the PZ, what in the hell are you so happy about?

Is this why the CSD was formed in the first place -- to have us pay instead of the county? Is this why Pandora did what she did?

The "County" was never going to pay for a sewer system in Los Osos, or anywhere else. In 1997 they had an assessment district formed, and had the ability to sell bonds and repay them from assessments on the property tax bills. This was done under the old "majority protest" assessment district process prior to Prop 218 being passed in 1998.

This is how sewer projects were built by the County for unincorporate areas in Cambria and Atascadero, before it became a City.

However, I was driving down my street past a neighbor's whose tank was being pumped. Thought I'd never get that stink out of my car, I had to roll down the windows for a long time. I wonder how pleasant that was for the people in the houses on that block?

The county put liens on PZ properties without legal notice! Can we count how many laws have been broken by the county, State Water Board and RWQCB? But, of course, they rely on the people not having the money for attorneys for legal justice, so they'll continue to break laws!

Anon 7:42- obviously you didn't understand the technology being used at Tri-W. Many treatment facilites are being upgraded and or developed in urban areas for efficient land use. On the water front of Edmonds, Washington, it's retro fit with a park and is the entry way from the ferries that shuttle from the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas to the mainland side-tourism is the industry and hasn't hurt them in the least bit. It was converted to either adjust outfall or I believe get rid of all outfall. Creative, useful and not stinky. Mixed use land use it the way to go. Tri-W will never be the middle of town because of the buffers of the bay - Los Osos will only really grow the other direction - out the LOVR. Get a grip and do a little reading beyond all things Los Osos and keep up with the progressing times. Do you realize that Tri-W and the following water management plans were going to bring us within 200 acre feet a year of being a self-contained water system? With the discharge plans-around town, with the blending and infrastructure development it would have been an assest. Also, our poor neighbors that get flooded again and again and again and have pumped up to 2 million gallons out to keep their homes dry would appreciate the issue of drainage being addressed as we discussed water management. What is this boards plan in how to address these neighbors? Or, are the NEEDS of the community being usurped by the WANTS of SOME of the members of our community?

Anonymous sez:"Also, our poor neighbors that get flooded again and again and again and have pumped up to 2 million gallons out to keep their homes dry would appreciate the issue of drainage being addressed as we discussed water management. What is this boards plan in how to address these neighbors? "

If I understand correctly, the TriW project was separate from any drainage plans, and that drainage was something that would/will require millions more to do (desperately needed and part of any overall water management plan IMHO) Right now, I don't think the county has responsibility for drainage, unless they exapnd the water reuse component of whatever sewering plans they're working up?

To get the Coastal Commission permit, #34, for TriW, they had to present a comprehensive water management plan for the ground water basin. This report was presented in July 2005- by then, the recall efforts were in place and it appears no one noticed. The board listened to and commented on task #3 of the Phase I plan implementation. Phase I would have taken 5 years to implement, Phase 2, 15 years and Phase 3 would involve permanant planning. In phase 1, one of the items addressed was allocation of water for ag exchange. This Cleath report was far more meaningful than anything the Ripley report provided because it speculated on scenarios in the long term water management of our basin and how treatment would be a part of the plan. In fact, it even addressed purple pipe that Al Barrows continues to speak of and if anybody is paying attention, the South Bay Community Center already has purple pipe.

To sum up, the water reuse issue was addressed through the TriW permitting process but now has to start at the beginning again. For those of us who are not on the emotional end of the debate, some of the inconsistencies in the arguements of the group that stopped the project are glaring.

Sit back, enjoy another cup of coffee while the debate rages but many of the questions have already been answered. The obstructionists were pitching such a fit and creating an illusion of understanding what was required to move the project in 2006, they drowned out the water management plan and anything that brought a positive light to TriW. These are true and the lie of 40 feet tall and every other nuance is a joke and I am embarrased for even having maybe believed all that for a second. Silly me, I've changed my mind and know the recall should have never happened and am willing to move on.

Anon 7:42- obviously you didn't understand the technology being used at Tri-W... 10:53 AM, February 04, 2007 To get the Coastal Commission permit, #34, for TriW -- who are one in the same.

Edmonds, Washington's ferry shuttle station is NOT Los Osos, and not in the middle of town (the 'middle' part you'd dispute).

You contend, all in a row:

1. "[A Tri-W] facility can be creative, useful and not stinky." Any facility can be "creative and useful" anywhere -- but it's only your OPINION that he won't be stinky. That isn't good enough. Sorry.

2. "Mixed use land use it the way to go."

Sure. Anywhere else except a sewer plus something else on Tri-W, where a sewer doesn't fit the area. Unless you don't use the library, don't go to church, don't go to CSD meetings, go have children and don't live in the Prohibition Zone...like you. Otherwise it's fine.

3. "Tri-W will never be the middle of town because of the buffers of the bay..."

Ridiculous!

4. "Los Osos will only really grow the other direction - out the LOVR."

So, everything west of Tri-W is the just the bottom of the growth fishbowl to you -- perfect for a sewer relative to the REST of Los Osos. A NIMBY fantasy by the Prince of Dreamers!

5. "Get a grip and do a little reading beyond all things Los Osos and keep up with the progressing times."

What you call "progressive" I call EXPENSIVE -- not to mention selfish, anti-social and unnessary -- based on nothing more than one spolied rich boy's nocturnal whimsy... perfectly logical if all you desire is ONR THING at the expense of everything else. Pathetic reasoning.

Do you, sir or madam, ever stop to realize just how much time you spend wasting your time and our time SELLING TRI-W to literally save your own life? Sickening.

You say you've moved on, but you obviously haven't. This is most glaring. You speak about looking at things unemotionally when you are a basketcase of emotions about to snap at any give moment an anyone who respectfully declines to agree with your heavily personalized version of history.

Looking at the fact that your reasoning is fatally flawed, and your justifications for Tri-W weak and weary, you simply cannot be trusted when you still have NOT been honest with yourself or the community.

Calhouns Can(n)ons

About the Can(n)ons

Calhoun's Can(n)ons was originally published in 1990 in the (now defunct) Morro Bay, CA, Sun Bulletin, and since 1992 has continued in the various resurrections of the Los Osos, CA. Bay News, Bay Breeze, Bay News, Bay News-Tolosa Press. A few years ago, the Can(n)on was added to the Central Coast NewsMission blogsite. Ann Calhoun lives in Los Osos. You can email her at Churadogs at gmail dot com

To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful. Edward R. Murrow

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; the essential is invisible to the eye.Antoine de Saint-ExuperyThe Little Prince

No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the misfortune is to do it solemnly. Montaigne